There has always been a tradition of outdoor cooking and barbequing in the United States. Many Americans are fans of the wood and smoke flavoring of meat and fish cooked on an outdoor grill, often over a wood fire. Unfortunately for city dwellers, this experience is often denied them by the lack of suitable outdoor facilities. Cooking over wood fires or even over a gas grill is too messy and dangerous to be done indoors. The danger of open flames, spilled cooking grease, smoke and related conditions make indoor grill cooking impractical. The present invention provides a solution that allows the urban dweller to enjoy the outdoor grilling experience in the comfort of his or her kitchen without the mess and danger associated with traditional outdoor grill cooking.
Another problem facing the urban dweller is attempting to cook several portions and have them cooked uniformly in the same time period. Most grilling devices that are adapted to stovetop burners and similar arrangements rely on a point source of heating, such as a gas stove burner. The present invention provides a substantially evenly heated grilling surface that can be safely used indoors without concerns regarding smoke, grease and danger of fire. The present invention includes special features to eliminate virtually all smoke and smells associated with indoor grilling.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,914, issued to Carstensen, is directed to a cooking grill assembly for use on a heating unit of various designs and types either charcoal fired, gas fired or electrically heated having a working surface which can support the grill assembly. The grill assembly has an upper grill component and a lower drip pan component detachably connected to each other along one margin of components that may be stamped integrally out of a single sheet of sheet metal and thereafter porcelinized if desired. The components are perforated with the perforations being laterally offset from each other in such a manner that the molten fatten grease resulting from the barbequing operation can drip downwardly through the perforations of the upper grill component are intercepted by the underlying or drip pan component and conveyed to a fat accumulation receptacle on the ladder. This arrangement allows the smoke and combustion vapors to rise upwardly through the perforations and flavor the meat in the desired manner but without the danger of the molten fat dropping on the burning fuel and being ignited thereby.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,331, issued to Dettling is directed to a grill for supporting food exposed to cooking temperatures comprising a plurality of parallel strips having frames for supporting the ends thereof. The side edges of these strips are bent over, the upper edge being turned down and the lower edge being turned up forming generally an S-shape. The strips are mounted so that the turned down edges overlap the up-turned edges of adjacent strips so that any drippings from the meat will fall into the trough of the lower bar and because of an inclination in the mounting will pour into a drip pan located at the lower level.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,634, issued to Van Horn, II is directed to a broiler/griddle for use on cooking ranges to convert the range interchangeably into a broiler for flame broiling or a griddle for frying. The portable range-top broiler and griddle apparatus has a removable and interchangeable griddle and broiling grid along with a removable base assembly which rests below the grid during broiling and acts as a secondary grease drain. When the broiler option is being used the broiling grid is placed within the fire box resting on supports which make the grid decline toward the front of the firebox so that grease and liquids drain off the grid and into a grease cup which is removably attached to the front of the firebox. The grid is formed of a series of parallel spaced steel channels. Beneath the grid a base assembly which is similar to the grid accepts the channels and spaces between the channels are wider. The base acts as a secondary grease drain catching a large quantity of the grease passing through the grid. The grid and the base have a plurality of openings through which the grease can drop and which allow heat flame and smoke to contact the food being broiled. The channels on both the base and grid are U-shaped having an open top side which faces upward so that the channels form troughs which can collect and drain off a portion of the grease.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,917, issued to Faaborg is directed to a stove top broiler combination for use on the top of a range or stove for converting the range at minimum cost to a charbroiler or griddle. The construction has an open topped and open bottomed rectangular base that supports a broiler surface constructed of a plurality of elongate strips bent at an angle to form troughs that are supported in a slant position so as to drain grease caught to a drip pan. This broiler grill is removable and below it are located plural larger strips with an angle forming a trough that is removably supported by notched support plates. Charcoal broiling is achieved and the flavor of cooked meat is enhanced by the horizontal lower level larger angles which burn and vaporize the drippings falling between the grids of the broiler.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,256,806, issued to Jordan is directed to an expandable and disposable pan tray and the like which can be used effectively to collect and retain liquids and grease and juices that drip from the meat when being cooked. The pan when expanded for use consists of a series of V-shaped parallel arranged troughs having peaks and valleys. Holes are placed at the top of the troughs to allow heat from the fire or other heating element to readily pass upward through the pan. The holes are placed at the upper edge of one side of the troughs to prevent grease and meat juices from dripping through the holes during broiling. Each hole is provided with a laterally extending substantially horizontal tab or cover that projects from the peak over each hole. An advantage of the present expandable pan is that it can be formed as a continuous structure of sufficient length to form a substantial number of individual pans of various sizes as required. They can be supplied so that it can be withdrawn from the container and severed at the length desired.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a device that simulates the outdoor barbeque experience in an indoor environment. It is a further objective to provide this experience in a manner that is safe from fire hazards. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a grilling device that prevents spattering, is easy to use and easy to clean. It is yet a further objective to a grilling device that allows for easy and effective control over the interior temperature of the grilling environment. Finally, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a grilling device that is durable, inexpensive and simple for the user to operate.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.